Soon All the Suns Will Rise

Down Comes the Night

Chapter title from "The Chain" by Fleetwood Mac. Some adapted excerpts in this chapter from "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" - all credit to J.K. Rowling for the amazingness that is hers and allowing us fanfic writers to adapt.
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"They are in the Forest of Dean!" Phineas Nigellus Black returned to his portrait, quite animated. "The Mudblood..."

"Don't use that word!" Dumbledore's portrait berated him harshly.

Phineas Nigellus retracted his word choice and explained that Miss Granger has disclosed their location while opening the bag containing the former Slytherin headmaster's portrait.

"Very good!" Dumbledore exclaimed. "Severus— the sword. Do not forget it must be taken under conditions of need and valor. And he cannot know you are the one giving it. Voldemort can still use his connection to Harry, and if he sees you helping..."

Severus sighed. Dumbledore still felt the need to spell out the most basic of concepts, as if Severus didn't already have a grave understanding of his mission's importance and the secrecy surrounding it. He stood, nudging the corners of Dumbledore's portrait loose to reveal the cabinet behind. He removed the gleaming sword, feeling its weight simply add to the load of everything else on his shoulders. Severus felt a glimmer of annoyance with the bespeckled old man, churning into defiance within him. How could the man expect so much of him, yet not offer the most crucial points of information?

Severus put up his most rigid Occlumency shield, as he always did surrounding this particular matter. There had been clues all along, especially when Dumbledore had revealed the existence of a piece of Voldemort within Harry himself, requiring the boy's ultimate sacrifice. Pieced together with Black's memories of time spent beyond the Veil with Regulus and the truth Dumbledore had somehow felt comfortable divulging to Black, the mystery of Horcruxes was now clear.

"And you're still not going to tell me the importance of the sword?" One last chance— one last opportunity for Dumbledore to prove he trusted Severus as much as he did Harry Potter and Sirius Black.

"I think not," Dumbledore replied tepidly. "Harry will know what to do with it. And do be careful with Harry and his friends— they may not think highly of you after the George Weasley incident."

Snape grimaced and left without another word. Of course Potter hated him. The boy could know nothing of Snape's positive deeds, such as saving Lupin's life during the sky battle, yet was faced with countless despicable ones. Severus couldn't even openly help the boy now; he'd probably be stupefied on sight.

Severus had to commend Miss Granger's execution of protective spells. It was good to know she wasn't just an insufferable know-it-all with an unhealthy attachment to books, but also possessed the ability to utilize such things practically. He had to spend a great deal of time examining for clues as to their precise location, but he found none. The night was bitterly cold and utterly black. He had to take care to erase his own bootprints in the snow so that once Potter accomplished his task, the boy would never be able to deduce the source of the aid. Severus was so focused on staying warm and erasing evidence of his presence that he nearly lost his footing when his boot hit solid ice. He didn't dare light his wand, in case Potter was close. Instead Severus recovered his footing and used his limbs to approximate the size of the body of water beneath him.

It was a large pond — certainly large enough to house a sword and allow plenty of room for entrance and exit. Severus would just need to test the depths. There was a difference between demonstrating valor and walking into a death trap. Waving his wand in the pitch black, Severus broke the ice and used a second spell to measure, deducing that it was safe enough. It surely wouldn't be pleasant; he would have to remain hidden but watchful in case the boy entered a hypothermic state and was unable to reach his clothes or produce warming charms. Surely Potter would be prudent enough to remove his clothes first.